As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, we rightly honor the courage, vision, and extraordinary political creativity of the nation’s founders. We revisit the Declaration of Independence, celebrate the Constitution, and reflect upon the remarkable achievement of creating a government based not on the rule of kings, but on the consent of free citizens.

Yet this anniversary invites another conversation, one that reaches across centuries and civilizations.

What did the Founders believe about human nature?

And how does that compare with Judaism’s understanding of who we are?

The answers are remarkably similar, yet profoundly different.

James Madison’s observation that “If men were angels, no government would be necessary” may be the most psychologically insightful sentence in American political history.

Madison understood that human beings are capable of extraordinary generosity and extraordinary selfishness, often within the very same person. Because of that reality, he concluded that no government should ever depend upon the assumption that people will consistently choose virtue over self-interest.

The Constitution was never designed for angels.

It was designed for human beings.

Checks and balances, federalism, separation of powers, and the rule of law all arise from a sober recognition that ambition, pride, and the desire for power can never be eliminated. Rather than trying to perfect human nature, the Founders sought to channel it. Madison famously summarized this principle in another memorable phrase: “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.”

The genius of the Constitution lies not in believing people are good.

It lies in recognizing that they are complicated.

Judaism begins with much the same realism.

The Torah never portrays human beings as naturally perfect. From Cain and Abel to Joseph and his brothers, from Moses striking the rock to........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)